Dag

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /dæɡ/

Definitions

1. A sharp or pointed projection such as a spike or stiff hair ; an informal term for someone regarded as unfashionable or socially awkward
2. A stiff, pointed object or part often found on animals or tools ; a casual label applied to a person who is quirky or out of style
3. A pointed tip or protruding spike ; a slang expression for an individual perceived as unfashionable or peculiar

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "dag" is that its two modern senses come from different roots that happen to look identical. The stiff, pointed sense is the older one: Middle Dutch "dagge" and "dagh" carried it, and it survives in modern Dutch "dagge," so English shares the word with the Low Countries. French "dague," meaning the spiked end of a whipping rope, sits alongside it as a relative. From the "hanging end" idea came the dialect sense of a dangling lock of wool matted with dung, which was first used in Kent. Some sources treat this as a clipped form of "daglock" or "daggle-lock" rather than a straightforward development. The label for a quirky or unfashionable person is a different matter. The source doesn't establish its origin, so there's no sound pathway to trace from the pointed sense.